Page 166 of Alphas Like Us

I reach back and find a workout towel on the floor. I toss it to him, and he throws up between his legs. Into thecloth.

The cameras go wild. Banging the glass. I keep a hand on Maximoff’s back, and I check through the rear windshield. I can barely spot security’s SUV through themasses.

Instinct tugs at my body to jump out of the car. Create a path. But alsokeep himsafe.

Keep Maximoff safe.I need security’s help. I’ve been in that SUV before, and sometimes paparazzi will purposefully cage bodyguards and try to jam doors. Just so they can’t reach theirclients.

Bruno should be widening a path for us to drive. If I could crack a guess, I’d say he’s being trapped in theSUV.

I put a hand on the wheel. I’m about to drive more aggressively and whoever I lightly hit, I hit. Before I press the gas, water drips on the windshield. I hearping.

Ping,ping.

I smell rain on metal, and I feelgravel…

Shit.

This is a steering wheel. A leather steering wheel. I grip harder. Fucking pissed. Out of all times this could be happening, a storm has to rip through the skynow.

“Farrow,” Maximoff calls out, breathing hard through physical pain. He sees the rain cascade onto thewindshield.

“Wolf scout…” I hear the crush of metal. My pulse spikes into a cutting breath. Slowly, I reach out for my boyfriend, and his hand is in mine. I bring his large palm to my face. He clutchestighter.

I breathe, trying to reorient my senses. My hand encases his jaw, smooth from a close shave. And I blink and only see his tough forest-greens.

He’s searching for the intense focus in my eyes. I’m sure it’s flickering in andout.

Camera flashes still shade us. A sinking realization: I can’t drive Maximoff tosafety.

All I want to do is drive us somewhere else, someplace else, and I’m certain Maximoff wishes he could do thesame.

With another breath,I take what limitations I’m given, and I’m going to work with them. My heartbeat rides a rocky rollercoaster, rising and falling in rapid succession. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” I whisper to Maximoff. “I’m going to climb in thebackseat—”

“I’m coming withyou.”

I almost smile. “That is the plan.” I unbuckle my seatbelt. “You’ll need to call security. Tell Bruno he has todrive.”

“Iwill.”

Before I go anywhere, I hone in on his pain. I pull at the collar of his crew-neck to check his traps. The muscle is inflamed and swollen.He needsice.

Maximoff’s hand descends to my neck, and while he dials security, he continues to search myeyes.

30

FARROW KEENE

“There’sno way to swing this in your favor,” our publicist says over the phone. Speaker on, I listen to her talk to Maximoff. “It looks bad. It will continue to look bad. You should have thought about the repercussions before you took a midnight flight to a private villa inMykonos.”

I comb a hand through my dyed white hair, and Maximoff exchanges an irked look with me. Kendra isn’t one of my favorite people, and as much as we’re on a final straw with her, she’s definitely on the last one with us. In most instances, we’ve chosen to take the media backlash, every hit, rather than sideslip away fromit.

And the mud slung at me stings a little bit thistime.

Farrow Keene Quit His Residency to Vacation with the Hale Family inTahiti

The trending headline is not even close to thetruth.

Shaded underneath pergolas, Maximoff sits rigidly on the wicker barstool, cool wind whipping his dark-brown hair. I slice a pineapple on the bar counter behind him. Our views from the villa are endless blues, the Aegean Sea serene and breathtaking, contrasting the paparazzi shit storm we left behind in theStates.